Constellation shines, offers diversity of styles and processes

While there’s no shortage of terrific photographic art created in Tennessee, it’s a rare opportunity to see the work of world-class photographic artists the caliber of Beth Moon, Louviere + Vanessa, and Debbie Fleming Caffery on local gallery walls. The new exhibition at Baldwin Gallery brings the art of 15 fine art photographers to Murfreesboro, courtesy of Obscura Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The power of the exhibition is that it offers such a diverse sampling of photographic styles and processes. The photograph that greets you when you enter the gallery is Octans, a luminous nocturnal image of an ancient baobab tree photographed by Beth Moon, an artist I have admired for years. In Octans (which is the name of a constellation in the southern sky), a brilliant night sky glows behind the gnarly branches and thick trunk of the old tree, which is rooted firmly in the rocky soil below. According to Moon’s artist statement, research has shown that trees grow faster when exposed to cosmic radiation. The tree connects heaven and Earth, literally.

Octans is an archival inkjet print on cotton rag paper. Also represented in the show are more exotic examples such as platinum/ palladium, hand-colored gelatin silver, wet plate collodion, kallitype, gum dichromate, and resin printing. New Orleans artists Louviere + Vanessa created “Arcuatim,” an archival inkjet print on handmade Japanese paper, toned with blood.

“Arcuatim” by Louviere + Vanessa, an archival inkjet print on handmade Japanese paper, toned with blood.

Every image in Constellation is a stand-out, but a platinum/palladium print called “Onion Flowers,” by Cy DeCosse is one of my personal favorites.

Platinum/palladium prints by Cy DeCosse, part of the Constellation exhibition at Baldwin Gallery

Baldwin Gallery is a terrific, intimate space

MTSU’s Baldwin Photographic Gallery is a beautifully spare and intimate space, specifically designed for showing photography. Sure, gallery hours and campus parking are barriers, but DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW! Trust me, this is a very rare opportunity to see amazing work by the some of world’s best fine art photographers, without traveling to Santa Fe, Chicago, or New York. And it’s free!

An arrangement of 9 kallitypes by Caitlyn Soldan

The details:

Constellation: Fifteen Fine Art Photographers. An exhibition of work by photographers represented at Obscura Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

If you go:Baldwin Photographic Gallery is located on the campus Middle Tennessee State University, in the Bragg Building (John Bragg Mass Communication Building), at the top of the stairs on the second floor. Note that the gallery closes daily at 4:30 pm, but will be open late on September 18 for the lecture by Jennifer Schlesinger.

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About Keith

Fine art photographer

Keith Dotson is a Nashville-based fine art photographer who specializes in black and white landscapes, cityscapes, and abstractions from nature. His work is collected by people, corporations, restaurants, and hotels around the country. Keith's photographs have also appeared in movies and in TV shows like Grey's Anatomy.